There isn't a script beyond training class. Every FA at Jones does it a little different. We have one guy in our region that walks around with the page from the WSJ that shows the letter grades of funds. He uses that to start conversations. Another guy buys a list, mails them an intro letter and then follows up in a week or so in person. I keep mine basic: are you an investor, where do you invest, when was the last time you sat down with your advisor to talk about investment returns, portfolio allocation, and income strategies.

It's relatively easy if you are a people person. Just ring the bell, intro yourself, ask a couple of questions, try to get their name and phone number if you want to call them from that point on. Try it. You may find it works for you.

Does anyone have a script from the Eddie Jones door knocking? Not the script they make you do for hiring, but the one the actual reps do?

There was a thread several months back where Babs outlined what she used to do, I thought hers was the best approach I'd heard and I beleive she got some decent clients out of it. Do a search on doorknocking and I think you'll find it.

Yep and more people are successful not doing it. Unless you know your area to a T and don't waste your time "testing the waters" of a neighbourhood, don't bother. You need to truly do your due deligince (What's the competition, the demograph, etc). Otherwise you'll be doing nothing but collecting assets for the next broker in line much like a good chunk of wanna Jones' brokers do.

Seriously, read up on how many Jones brokers fail for every successful office. Not every practice in those offices are built from scratch.

In the time I've cold walked in a brand new city, I've had more people call the cops on me (despite the solicitation perm I had), dogs bite me and one guy even punch me in the face (because my knocking woke his 5 month old baby) than I did opening accounts. My fault though for being a complete noob.

i did great doorknocking in a new town. earned 2 trips in first 15 months, starting with zero and exclusively following up on doorknocks. "hi-just out letting people know 'bout my new business in town" (wait for them to ask what it is) "Edward Jones-have you heard of us?" (wait to see where it goes from there; have a short chat) "anyway, i am in the information business; like to keep people informed on investment ideas, where rates are, etc. Your name was?" (write it down) "And your number is?" (write it down) "thanks I'll be in touch-by the way , who else is home right now on this block?"

That was my thought. I'm going to get a zillion rejections from cold calling, not to mention when calling there is a possiblity of unqualified leads. Why not select a neighborhood and walk it? Rejection is going to happen one way or the other, why not get a little face time. Not to mention rejection totally turns me on.

most people say that, but will not actually do it. why? because to work it, you cannot go out there for a day. or part of a day. or when you're in the mood--it will NOT turn you on by week two. When you have zero assets you go to the first door at 9am and go all day (no clients to service): I brought bag lunch for the car, to doorknock right thru to 5pm. After that: family time until kids bedtime, then paperwork,etc . After 5MM or so is collected, the doorknocking time slowly ratches down. after 10MM, it is only to businesses. Now you are Seg 3, and it is mostly phoning and seminars. It works but is only fun in the sunshine.

I've been in the service industry for almost 11 years building my own company, here's some numbers:

Leads from $30,000 in yellow page ads(annual expense):

1. 35 calls a MONTH on average

2. 40% set up consultation if your phone person is good (or you) 20% if they're bad

3. 80% closing rate if going in person to home if you're good, 60% if you aren't, 40% if you're an idiot (me when I started LOL)

4. Totals (based on best numbers from above) - $71 per call, $178 per in home consult, $223 per closed customer. All totals are ONLY yellow page ad $$$$, nothing for office staff, time, phone lines, office lease, electric, other office expenses, etc. Probably double that to $450-500 per closed customer going that route in total costs.

Newspaper inserts have a worse average but can be more targeted to seasonal fluxuations of businesses.

Just to put door knocking in a bit of perspective, seems cheaper to me, and other than the pain of walking and the pain of rejection, it's a pretty good way to spend a day when starting out. And I just don't experience people being rude to me when I talked with people. There is a way to approach people and follow your sales plan/routine and make sure you look them in the eye.

Yeeeooowww, what an expense for a single ad! Is it a full cover "backcover of the phone book" ad or a full page ad contained within the yellow pages?

Besides the listing of the B/D firms and their phone numbers, there are no ads from any firm, including mine, in the yellow pages. I never thought it would be useful, kind of like ads in newspapers.

They work, but not sure if they work that well for $$ spent in this industry, have to see some numbers. And it was spread over 3 books in 2 difference sections all full color in-book ads from dollar bill size to 1/2 pagers. I have a dentist friend with a thriving practice and he was complaining about $170 a month for his yp ad! I wanted to cry!

I have learned one thing though, one of the hardest parts of building a business is getting into a person's head that advertising is an investment not an expense and should be look upon as putting money away for the long haul. Just as one wouldn't hesitate to dump 1k a month in their 401k they shouldn't hesitate to put 12k a year in advertising.

Get on the phone. Have a story to tell. Be enthusiastic (yet believable) and tell 50 new people per day about your offering. After a preliminary period, you'll start opening about 10 new accounts/month. Average new household should be at least 200k . In other words. you'll bring in about 2 million in new assets; at 1% fee you're talking 20k/month and 240k/year. Just for the first 18 months or so; add the residuals and do the math. Yeah, it works- I'm living proof.

Get on the phone. Have a story to tell. Be enthusiastic (yet believable) and tell 50 new people per day about your offering. After a preliminary period, you'll start opening about 10 new accounts/month. Average new household should be at least 200k . In other words. you'll bring in about 2 million in new assets; at 1% fee you're talking 20k/month and 240k/year. Just for the first 18 months or so; add the residuals and do the math. Yeah, it works- I'm living proof.

So you get (on average, being adept at phone sales) 1 new account per 100 phone calls? No way, that high of an average??? Incredible, I would have expected 1/250-400. 1-10 as 10 being the best, what would your rate your sales skill at?

You working from a pre-made, pre-qualified list? targeting certain household income? or just winging it by zip code?

Kerho-Sorry I didn't respond previoulsy to your question (I never checked back on this post).

I've been doing this for a # of years and although I don't "cold prospect" nearly to the degree that I used to, the numbers always played out. Calling primarily business owners and corporate directories, 100 new contacts would generate 10 leads; 10 leads would eventually end up being one new account. Average household was approx. 300k in a fee-based account (I qualified everyone for a minimum of 100k). The callbacks were more of a wildcard; some prospects you would call back once and then toss, some as many as 8 times. Using larger numbers, I would probably open 12 accounts/100 leads.

My sales skills are more than adequate, but by no means spectacular. I would close about 75% of the people who would actually meet with me in person. I prospected locally so I always went for an appointment on the second call. What probably made the biggest difference for me was my organization (calling back when I said I would) and the "pleasant persistance" that prospects often commented on. And...I never came across as pushy or desperate, though I certainly felt desperate at times (!). I knew that if I had enough prospects in the hopper and kept filling it up, enough good stuff would come through. Finally- I asked for the order. Can't tell you how many good brokers I see bring the prospect to water and never ask them to drink.